Why we'll never have a flocked tree again...and some art stuff.

Our Christmas tree! A little blurry, perhaps, but festive! I like too many things to do those nice, color coordinated decorations that people do, so our "theme" is multiple colors. We have enough decorations for 2 (or three) trees, so we usually try to just put on the ornaments we have have purchased together plus a few of our old favorites. How cute is that felt tree skirt??? After years of stubbornly not using anything until I could find one I really liked, I found this one last year at Marshalls for a steal of a deal. I couldn't pull it off the rack fast enough! The tree topper is a vintage piece that is one of the first things we ever purchased together while browsing an antique mall.

I've been putting off posting because I have soooo much to post, but I decided to just do it in increments. By the time I get done posting about the last two weeks it should be coming on Spring.

First, the most hilarious thing - sort of. Remember when I said that Rexy loooooooved snow now? Well, she loved it so much that she thought it needed to be in her room. And, since she had that nice, flocked tree handy...

I don't know if you can get a good look at those socks, but they are covered in flocking! As are the leggings. I heard her singing the "I Love Snow" song from The Backyardigans and thought, "Oh, I bet she's doing some cute dance or something. I'm going to take a look." I peeked into her room and oh, man! This picture doesn't really capture the white glow that the rug had. The ends of the tree branches look like they belong to a Charlie Brown tree now - they've been stripped bare. I decided to just let her be - although I did tell her to stop taking the snow off her tree. But since it was already done I figured I would let her play with it for the day. What didn't occur to me (Why? Why?) is that she wouldn't just stay in her room the rest of the day! Pretty soon there was flocking on the living room rug, the bathroom floor, the couch, the chairs, everything I was wearing, and the kitchen floor. It was still kind of funny, though. When her Dad came home I told him to take a peek in her room. He came back in and said, "Is it okay that she's throwing it up in the air and letting it land on her head?" Groan.............bathtime hairwashing, always a joy anyway (not), was more challenging that usual.

All was forgiven when (okay, it was forgiven immediately anyway) she brought this home from school:

Next to it is the little mosaic tile she made us and wrapped in handpainted wrapping paper. She was so excited that she had a gift for us that she wanted us to open it right away, but we managed to convince her to wait until Christmas. (The tile, not the gingerbread house.) I know these are the same things that everyone's kids bring home - but we were thrilled and charmed to the core anyway.

And, sound the trumpets! Start the parade! I finally finished her stocking a mere 2 years after I first bought the felt for it! Yahoo! You sewing gals will be laughing when you take a good look at it. I hot glued everything but the blanket stitch around the outside (of course) and the chenille loop/hanger at the top. The embroidery letters are completely laughable, hopefully she'll find them charming as she gets older. I made the trees and the gift and bought all the other embellishments at a local scrapbooking store; except for the ornate, dark green, felt ribbon on the chartreuse tree and the gift - that I got from scrappindeals.com. They have the best sales! And I don't even do scrapbooks. Definitely get on their mailing list if you're not already.

And lastly (for this post), here is the necklace I made for my Secret Sister in the ZNE Design Team Secret Santa exchange - it was for Chel! It's hard to see but I fashioned a cherry out of some beads and wire and hung it from the bottom. Cherries, Black, Red, Polka Dots, Gingham, Pin-up Girls, Glitter, Retro, and Tattoos were the things she said she liked so I tried to include them all in a pleasing way. The tattoos are represented by the word "Saucy" that I glued to her upper arm. Retro is in the picture, the gingham, the polka dots, the cherry, and the little ladybug beads. I idiotically forgot to include the card with the box when I sent it (there it was, sitting on the dining room table, when I got back from the UPS store), but she figured out that it was from me for the gift exchange - and that it was custom made especially for her!

Can you believe that this is just part of what I have to blog about? Yikes. In any case, the rest will come later - or not. For now -

HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!

I wish you all love, creativity, laughter, and happiness in the coming year.